Press release
Trinity Valley Community College and the City of Athens have reached an agreement for the college to purchase the property known as Central Park and the former National Guard Armory now being used as the City’s Development Services Center and Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The purchase was approved by the Athens City Council and by the TVCC Board of Trustees at their respective meetings held Monday, November 28.
After the decision Monday night, Athens Mayor Jerry Don Vaught said, “City Council is very pleased to have come to a fair agreement on the purchase of the Central Park property with TVCC. We feel strongly that the college will have the best use for the property with possible future expansion of college facilities. This will be a great benefit to the Athens community and the future prosperity and growth of Athens overall.”
TVCC President Dr. Jerry King complimented the Athens City Council and TVCC Board of Trustees on their negotiations to purchase the park and facility. “I appreciate the vision of the TVCC Board of Trustees and Athens City Council,” he said. “The purchase of this property will tremendously benefit TVCC and its students. We plan to ultimately use the Emergency Operations Center as a TVCC Fitness Center and as a location for community and TVCC meetings. The addition of Central Park will also provide an opportunity for future expansion of the TVCC Campus.”
Following state law, the City will use proceeds of the sale for other parks related projects within the City.
“I’m thrilled we found a way to support TVCC through this sale,” said City Manager Philip Rodriguez. “We knew for some time that TVCC had discussed wanting to expand its footprint and services here in Athens, and Council made a great decision in helping the college with that goal. There’s no question that TVCC is a valuable part of our culture and our local economy. They have deep roots here in Athens, and this property only strengthens that important tie to our community.”
As a part of the purchase agreement, TVCC will provide 50 need-based scholarships valued at up to $2000 each for Athens residents. The City will lease back the front portion of the building containing offices for a period of up to 18 months or until the Cain Center expansion is complete, and will have sole use of the EOC if needed for an emergency during the lease.